For the meanings of the initials in brackets at the end of many of the entries, click here.

Early Abstractions #1-5, 7, 10(1939-56) No MPAA Rating; Director: Harry Smith. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.

East is East(1999) MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content and some domestic violence; TV Rating: TV-PG; Director: Damien O'Donnell. This is a movie about the situation of South Asians who have immigrated to the West and part of an emerging genre of these films. We haven't seen it. (For an example of this genre on TeachWithMovies.com, see "Bend It Like Beckham".)

Easy Rider(1969) MPAA Rating: R; Director: Dennis Hopper. This film is ranked #88 on the American Film Institute's List of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time (2006). This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film. See the section on this movie in History Goes to the Movies.

Eaux d'artifice(1953) No MPAA Rating; Director: Kenneth Anger. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.

The Edward R. Murrow Collection: The McCarthy Years(1991) No MPAA Rating; Executive Producer: Ken Ross. This documentary is an excellent presentation of the conflict between Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. There are many clips of McCarthy giving speeches. We get to see the interview with Milo Radulovich, an Air Force officer who was dismissed from the service because he would not sever his relationship with his father and sister who were thought to have left-wing leanings. The conflict between Murrow and McCarthy is set in its historical context. The only problem with the film is that it is very long, probably too long for use in the classroom. Otherwise, it is an excellent supplement to a unit on the Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s. TWM has prepared Learning Guides to the following movies that deal with McCarythyism and the Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s: "High Noon" and "The Crucible". (JAF, 2008)

El Norte(1983) MPAA Rating: R; Director: Gregory Nava. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.

Election(1999) MPAA Rating: R for strong sexuality, sex-related dialogue and language, and a scene of drug use; Director: Alexander Payne. This film is about the life of a teacher which disintegrates during the election for the president of the student body at his school. It has excellent moral values but deserves its MPAA rating. [PD](JAF)

Elephant(2003) MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violent content, language, brief sexuality and drug use - all involving teens; Director: Gus Van Sant. This movie is about a high school with several dysfunctional kids. It is slow moving but has some interesting use of episodes occurring at the same time shown from several different perspectives. Some kids rejected and persecuted by other students are planning a Columbine-like attack. The film ends tragically. [NR](JAF & DEF, 2008)

The Elephant Man (1980) MPAA Rating: PG; Director: David Lynch. There is much worthwhile about this film but the abuse of John Merrick is shown graphically and there are scenes in which women are pressed upon him. We think this film will be disturbing to children. One woman wrote to us and said, "I want to say something about the movie 'The Elephant Man.' I am 30 years old and at age 11 I saw 'The Elephant Man' and cried every night for two weeks, and remember to this day how upsetting it was. ... I only remember how cruel people were to this poor disfigured person. You might want to mention that sensitive children may have difficulty with it ... I know I did." This film is appropriate for strong, mature, older children. Perhaps the best film of all time about overcoming a disability is "The Miracle Worker". "Lorenzo's Oil" is very powerful and shows a child sinking into disability. Another person wrote, "Not only is this movie useful for its literary merit as an important play, it would be wonderful to show disabilities (and how they were dealt with in the past) and how far we have come in our treatment of people with disabilities." [PD](JAF)

Elizabeth (1998) MPAA Rating: R for violence and sexuality; Director: Shekhar Kapur. This film contains unnecessary violence, explicit sex and questionable history. See the sections on this movie in Reel v. Real: How Hollywood Turns Fact Into Fiction and History Goes to the Movies. A teacher who is an expert at using film in the classroom has developed a way to use scenes from this movie for certain activities. See Reading in the Dark, by John Golden, 2001, National Council of Teachers of English. For a film about English dynastic succession, see "Looking for Richard" and "Richard III". [NR]

The Emperor and the Assassin(1999) MPAA Rating: R for violence; Director: Kaige Chen. This epic, complete with battle scenes involving thousands of extras, ancient machines of wars, sieges of cities, etc. purports to describe events during the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty in the third century, B.C.E. The film was too long. We have not researched its historical accuracy but don't think it is worth the effort to create a Learning Guide. [ITO](JAF)

Emperor Jones (1933) No MPAA Rating; Director: Dudley Murphy. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film. Too esoteric with dated images of African-Americans. The dialogue is difficult to handle. [NA](JAF)

The Endless Summer(1966) No MPAA Rating; Director: Bruce Brown. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.

Enemy Mine (1985) MPAA Rating: PG-13; Director: Wolfgang Petersen. This science fiction movie presents the important moral that even our enemies are human. Unfortunately, it has poor production values and the acting isn't the best. The costumes on the aliens will probably make kids laugh. However, by the end of the film, the viewer is enmeshed in the story and the movie's valuable moral lesson is strikingly presented. There are other and better films to show for this purpose such as All Quiet on the Western Front", which is a much broader and deeper experience, providing information about the First World War and which confronts additional issues such as the problems with unreasoning patriotism and the horror of war. [NR](JAF, 2012)Enemy At The Gates(2001) MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong graphic war violence and some sexuality; Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud. See the section on this movie in Reel v. Real: How Hollywood Turns Fact Into Fiction.

Enter the Dragon(1973) MPAA Rating: R; Director: Robert Clouse. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.

Entrapment (1999) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some language, sensuality, violence and drug content; Director: Jon Amiel This film has no substance that we could find. [ITO](JAF)

Eraserhead(1977) MPAA Rating: Unrated; Director: David Lynch. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.

Erin Brockovich(2000) MPAA Rating: R for language; Director: Steven Soderbergh. This is an excellent film about the legal process uncovering corporate wrongdoing. It has also been suggested by several people. See the section on this movie in Reel v. Real: How Hollywood Turns Fact Into Fiction.[LI](JAF)

Escape From Sobibor(1987) No MPAA Rating; Director: Jack Gold. "This is an excellent Holocaust film. Although there is some violence (very hard to portray the Holocaust without some horrifying scenes) it does not have the problems that 'Schindler's List' has with sex, language and excessive violence... I have been using it for over 10 years with my 10th grade U.S. History students. It has a powerful impact on them." Marcene Telfer, Teacher; Suggested grades: 9-12. See the section on this movie in History Goes to the Movies. [LI]

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(1984) MPAA Rating: PG; Director: Steven Spielberg. This film is ranked #25 on the American Film Institute's List of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time (2006). This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film. A teacher who is an expert at using film in the classroom has developed a way to use scenes from this movie for certain activities. See Reading in the Dark, by John Golden, 2001, National Council of Teachers of English. [LI](JAF & DEF)

Evidence of the Film(1913) No MPAA Rating; Directors: Lawrence Marston and Edwin Thanhouser. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.

Evita (1996) MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, images of violence and some mild language; Director Alan Parker. This is an excellent film version of the popular Broadway musical but it contains adult themes. We can't believe that it got a PG rating, rather than an R rating. It bills itself as the story of a woman who sleeps her way to the top. One line from the film: "All she has is what is between her legs." For another film about Argentina see "The Official Story". See also "Evita." [PD](JAF & DEF)

Excalibur (1981) MPAA Rating: R; Director: John Boorman. This film is excessively violent and contains a sexually explicit scene of the seduction/rape of Igrayne by Uther Pendragon. Some scholars regard this film as a fairly accurate retelling of the Arthurian/Merlin legend (which itself contains many different and contradictory versions). See the section on this movie in History Goes to the Movies. [PD](JAF)

Ex Machina (2014) MPAA Rating: R; Director: Alex Garland. The story involves artificial intelligence and how a robot outwits two very intelligent men. The movie is entertaining and the robots sexy -- however, there is little to learn here. [ITO(JAF, 2015)

The Exploits of Elaine(1914) No MPAA Rating; Directors: Louis J. Gasnier and George B. Seitz. This film is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film.